red whiskered bulbul
Red whiskered Bulbul | Pycnonotus jocosus |
Red whiskered Bulbul nesting. Lo and behold the beauty of the red whiskers! Adult bulbuls are around 20-22cm long. A few studies show that males have slightly longer wing length and whiskers with respect to their female counterparts.
Nest of a Red whiskered Bulbul, with 2 eggs.
Red whiskered Bulbuls build an open cup nest of rootlets, twigs, bark and leaves, lined with soft fibre. The nest is usually placed in a low tree fork, which is usually covered by overlying bush or leaves. Making of a nest is an interesting period to observe. I have once put a few colorful cotton threads near the nesting area and later found that the bulbuls had incorporated the threads with the nest.
A close-up view of the eggs of a Red whiskered Bulbul. Pale pink eggs, streaked and spotted with shades of red.
Nesting is known to take place from August to March, probably the period of the year excluding the wettest months (June and July) of the southwest monsoon and the hottest months (April and May). There are 2 nests taken at different periods shown in this article and this one was taken around mid January 2008 while the other was taken around the end of September 2007. A typical clutch consists of two to four (I have not seen more than three) pale pink eggs, streaked and spotted with shades of red. Incubation lasts for 12-14 days. Both birds incubate the eggs and care for the nestlings. I have never witnessed more than 2 young raised to maturity. This could probably be due to the inability of the parents to satisfy their hunger as young bulbuls have voracious apetites. Two or three broods may be reared in a season.
Nestling of a Red whiskered Bulbul. The nestlings are fed with highly nutritious food comprising of insects and worms and they grow up very fast, and within a few days one can see them flying off! They fledge at about 14 to 18 days after hatching.This photograph was taken in September 2007 @ home, kerala.
Though they guard and defend their nest aggressively, many of the nests I have watched have been ransacked by predating indian koels and sometimes, the crow pheasants. Some bulbuls have a wonderful tactic of misleading the predators or humans. If it senses a predator near the nest, the bulbul flies up and then all of a sudden it falls down, almost as if it was shot by a gun! It then crawls on the ground and makes a cry as if it is hurt. The unsuspecting predator moves on to the parent bulbul and as soon as it gets nearby, the bulbul flies off, having its purpose accomplished successfully!
Red whiskered Bulbul on our mulberry tree. Fruits, berries, nectar, insects and worms makes the lion’s share of their diet.
Red whiskered Bulbuls are native to southern Asia, and they have been introduced to many other regions. Adult bulbuls are around 20-22cm long. A few of the characteristics are its pointed crest, red whiskers (leading to its name) and the red vent. Red whiskered bulbuls are active around human habitats and less timid around humans. Their flight is a characteristic bouncing up-and-down woodpecker-like. The call, a characteristic descending musical whistle, is often an indication the bird’s presence long before it is seen.
A relative is the Red vented bulbul, is bit duller, lacks the pointed crest and red whiskers, has a different call and is more confined to the wooded areas.
Cameras and Lenses: Nikon D80 + Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens, Olympus U770 + TCON 17 Tele Lens. Nikon photographs by rocksea and Olympus photographs by sarah. Clicking on any of the photos above will lead to higher resolution images and a nature album with more of these kind of photographs.
Hello 👋
I am from Mauritius. Thank you for your very interesting blog. I’ve got a pair of red whiskered bulbul in my terrace with two lovely eggs. Am very delighted 😀 hope that everything goes on fine for the new family 👪
We have a pair of lovely red whispered bulbul nesting in our sitout, second time also same place they made nest Recently I observed that they have become closer,when we sit in the sitout,we named rivo,when we call rivo they will respond .making noise,put a container for food,and water grated fruits then they can easily eat,apple,banana,cooked rice eat
I got red whiskers bul bul nest with 2 egg . opposite of our house ,they built a nest in curry leaves tree .the owner cut it the leaves,the poor birds not coming again the nest,I felt very sad ,the egg can hacthing in incubate.
I am Narendra from Pune , red whiskered bulbul has made beautiful nest at my window in March 2023, after giving the 3 eggs they has babies and next day they left with babies, nest is intact, do they come again?
That’s good to know! Red whiskered bulbuls don’t reuse their nests.
What we should do that red whiskered bulbul can come again?!
Hi. I had rescued a bulbul and when it was flying around, 1 cat came out of nowhere and took her. Do you know if I can get a red whiskered bulbul.. in south goa
I had a nest in my balcony. The red vented bulbul gave three eggs and flew away. I used to keep bananas and pappaya for her. When I noticed she hasn’t returned for 2 days. I was confused. I wanted for one more day. She didn’t return. So, I have took all three eggs and made a home incubator. It’s been seven days and I am waiting to hatch. Kindly guide me
In my homestead, a red whiskered bull bull nested and laid three eggs. Fearing that predators would catch the young bird, I made a cover without interfering it’s entry into the nest . But after that they have not come to the nest for breeding. Their presence is very lesser time than earlier. Whether the egg needs continuous breeding of mother bird? Anybody can give its behavioural approch towards breeding.
What we should do that red whiskered bulbul can come again?
A red whiskered bulbul has built a nest in my garden, has laid eggs and the nestling are also here. But one nestling seems to have a disease, its butt is bigger than the other two nestling. Please tell me if it’s a infection which could spread or it’s okay. Also tell how to cure it.
Hey! I spotted crows and squirrels trying to attack bulbuls nest in my lawn today, though I scared them off, I’m worried about the babies. Any ways I can help?
Hi Saumya, it’s quite difficult once the predators have spotted the nest with chicks. We have seen instances where one cuckoo distracts the parents (and us while trying to help the bulbuls) while another raids the nest. I hope whatever you try works for them!
Hey, recently these birds have made their nest in my home. Sadly after laying the eggs they left and never returned.. what could be possible reason for abandoning their eggs ??
Hey Gouthami, it could be that after laying the eggs the birds felt a threat or danger that makes it unsafe. It could be a cat or other repeated disturbances…
I recently have a red whiskered bulbul build a nest in my garden..whenever she sits in her nest she keeps her mouth open..Is it a problem or its just their normal behaviour?
Shagun, it could be the heat. Since birds do not have sweat glands, their primary way of dissipating excessive heat is by opening their throat and moving it up and down, getting rid of the heat from their body through the open beak. You can keep water bowls nearby if heat could be an issue in your area.
How long does a baby bulbul take to leave the nest once it can fly? We have a nest made in our house and the parent bird is in attack mode since the baby left the nest this morning.
Do bulbul shifts there baby chicks
nooooo!!!!!!!!!!
Hi,
Thank you for your interesting article. I live in Bangalore and in August a red whiskered bulbul family built a nest in our balcony, the babies hatched and left and we didn’t see them again, but the nest is still there in perfect condition, undisturbed. Today, I spotted a red whiskered bulbul in my balcony again, near the nest. Do they come back and lay eggs in the same nest for the second time?
Yes they do!
Hi
We have a pair of red whispered bulbul nesting in our terrace garden since last 15 days. Recently I observed that they have become very aggressive and in fact try to scare us when we sit in the garden. What could be the reason and what should we do?
Ananya, that’s good news! I don’t think there is anything much to do. Hope that cuckoos or crows don’t find their nest.
I’m happy to find your blog. We have just had a couple of red-whiskered bulbuls nesting in a bush right outside our front door. The next is no more than 5 ft off the ground. There are 2 fledglings which they were busy feeding until a next door cat kept attacking the bush! We’ve put wire mesh around the base of the bush (the nest is towards the top) but I think the combination of the cat and our movement has scared away the parents. Could you advise if there’s any way that we can feed the young ourselves?
Hey Tesia, if the cat and you have moved away, the bulbuls should be back I guess? Bulbul chicks are reared on an insect diet.
If you don’t have any option other than hand-rearing the chicks yourself, check this link and the comments in that page:
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatbirdblog/2010/10/18/the-red-vented-bulbul-an-ideal-softbill-or-non-typical-cage-bird/
They’ve discussed on some alternate food as well.
The pictures of the Red Whiskered Bulbul are simply awesome!A pair of these beautiful birds visited my balcony scouting for a place to nest.Would a wooden board placed at a height be of help?Kindly guide me.Thank you.
Dear Uma, they have cup like nests made of small dried twigs and for that they need some structure (cup-like joints) which can support that.
At what age does a bulbul give eggs?
please send me the malayalam name for “red whiskered bulbul”. my id is haimahey@gmail.com.
hello mahi, red whiskered bulbul is known as iratta-thalachi (ഇരട്ടത്തലച്ചി) in malayalam. This is due to its beak like crown, which makes it look like it has its mouth open.
da pictures r superb
I got red whiskers bul bul nest with 2 egg . opposite of our house ,they built a nest in curry leaves tree .the owner cut it the leaves,the poor birds not coming again the nest,I felt very sad ,the egg can hacthing in incubate.